


clear to see (they're in love)

by enablelove



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Boys In Love, Established Relationship, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:35:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29709657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enablelove/pseuds/enablelove
Summary: 4 times someone else could see TK and Carlos were in love. (Judd, Grace, Owen, and Carlos’ mom)
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 21
Kudos: 243





	clear to see (they're in love)

Judd looks over and sees TK making the most ridiculous eyes at his phone again.

“Brother, I get that you miss your boy, but we have a job to do,” Judd drawls and TK looks up, cheeks pinkening just a little in guilt. Not enough, though; TK doesn’t have a nickel’s worth of self preservation.

“Just cause my boyfriend is willing to text me during work doesn’t mean you should be all jealous,” TK retorts. 

Judd doesn’t bother replying because he’s not going to stoop to his level. 

Except... he can’t let it go.

“Grace and I do text, you yuppie, we just also do our jobs.”

TK laughs at that and nudges Judd.

“Yes, sir, Mr. Ryder. I’ll pay more attention,” he says with a mock salute. 

God, the kid is annoying, but it’s nice to see him looser and more playful than he’s been in a while. He seems like he’s finally happy in the skin he’s in and it’s a damn near wonderful sight. 

+

Grace offers Carlos the filled wine glass before settling down next to him and checking her watch. They planned a movie night while their ‘hot mess express boys,’ as they like to call them, are on shift. 

“What’s got you so smiley?” She asks him.

“TK just sent a picture of Mateo’s new tattoo,” Carlos says with a laugh, passing the phone over so she can see. It takes a second for her to notice the typo.

“Oh the poor boy. Please tell me TK told the man?” Grace says, a notification going off on the top of the screen.

_Love you too, baby! See you soon. I miss you already._

She passes the phone over, not commenting on the sweet message. Yet. She has all night to poke fun at the couple in their honeymoon stage, knowing she and Judd can be just as bad. 

“No, because he’s a chicken. I hope someone tells him soon, though, he doesn’t want to be laughed off the internet for that. Especially when it’s not completely his fault,” Carlos comments, a small smile coming over his face as he goes back to his messages to respond with a saccharine message of his own, she’s sure. She lets it go for now - there’s no shame in being in love after all. 

+

Owen looks at the couple asleep on the sofa and can’t help but smile. TK’s had to be home resting after a fall on their last shift, and Carlos came by to give him company. The TV is still on so Owen turns it off with the remote before pulling the blanket off the back of the sofa to put over TK and Carlos.

Carlos is lying on his back and TK is resting on his chest, arm cradled carefully against his own chest with the cast. Carlos’ is holding TK close, with TK against the back of the sofa, protecting him even while sleeping. The boy would walk through fire if it meant TK was a little more comfortable, Owen is absolutely positive.

Owen is so thankful that Carlos came into their life. He’s brought about a whole new change to TK. His scared-of-love son is smiling more, has gone through such personal growths, and is making amazing decisions for himself and his future. TK has always been headstrong, but Carlos brings an impression of softness and coolness to that tenacity and fire. They complement each other, anyone with an iota of sense can see it.

Owen takes out his phone and snaps a quick picture, sending it to the group thread with all of the family. As adorable as this moment is, teasing each other is always in play. Any way to razz on the lovebirds is fair game and a good time had by all. 

+

Andrea looks at the end of the table where her beautiful, no longer a baby, boy is sitting with his boyfriend. They’re all having lunch together at Tia Lucy’s and Carlos has finally been bringing TK regularly. It was a long road to get here, and quite a few tears, but Andrea is glad they’ve cleared the air. 

She’s not sure how she didn’t recognize how different Carlitos has been. She thought it was a promotion at work or just him finding his groove, but clearly it was all TK. Her boy has been smiling more, that incandescent grin lighting up her life more than it ever has.

When he came out to them at 17, they didn’t realize that by not talking about it, they had dimmed that shine. Andrea didn’t know her son thought she was brushing things under the rug and asking Carlos to hide who he was by not discussing anything. She truly thought he knew their door was always open and that she was normalizing the situation by not talking about it.

How naive she had been. 

Andrea is so glad that things have changed, because looking at her son, it’s clear as day that he’s in love. That he’s whispering inside jokes or pointing out the idiosyncrasies of the family to the man next to him. That his whole being is drenched in sunlight and that’s all she ever wanted for her son. She wanted him to be loved and accepted, and TK has done that for her when she couldn’t. 

Andrea walks over to the pair and presses a soft kiss to both their foreheads. 

They look up at her in surprise, not even sensing her come over. She shrugs, but needed that point of contact as a silent vow to never again let Carlos not feel her love and support. And that her future son-in-law, she’s sure, should always feel welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on tumblr or instagram! (Same username) I always love more people to yell at about these two haha.


End file.
